Two men arrested in major drug operation inside Brooklyn candy store

Police have arrested two men accused of running a major drug operation out of an unassuming Brooklyn candy store, officials said.

Police arrested two men accused of running a massive drug operation out of an unassuming Brooklyn candy store, officials said Friday.

Mohamad Ali, 46, of Hell's Kitchen, and Hamdan Alsaidi, 33, of Kew Gardens, Queens, were charged with drug trafficking, drug possession and the use of drug paraphernalia, police said.

Advertisement

The two men were cuffed after cops found a secret door in Gates Candy & Grocery on Gates Ave. near St. Nicholas Ave. in Bushwick that led to a massive drug-selling hub.

"It was a very large seizure, a great case," Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Friday. "It just reflects how significant that problem has become around that particular drug."

The two men were arrested after cops found a a secret door in Gates Candy & Grocery that led to a massive heroin-selling hub. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)

State Finance Department officers found the secret door during a search for untaxed cigarettes on Wednesday night. On Thursday, cops executed a search warrant, removing 50 large bags of cocaine, 24 plastic bags of heroin, a million glassine bags used to package heroin, and large quantities of fentanyl. Cops say fentanyl, a powerful prescription painkiller often used to cut and enhance heroin, has been responsible for scores of overdoses across the tri-state area.

Cops needed two NYPD trucks to load all of the drugs and processing equipment, officials said.

"They found a lot of drug paraphernalia and a lot of white powder," said NYPD Chief of Intelligence Bureau Thomas Galati. "We believe it's cutting agents, but there are some signs that some of it can actually be narcotics. It's all going to the lab."

Cops found several Ziploc bags full of what they believe is heroin. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)

Lance Lazzaro, the lawyer for both defendants, said his clients only recently started working at the candy shop and had "no clue" what was in there.

Judge Curtis Farber set bail for both men at $350,000 bond or $250,000 cash.